Courtesy of the Iconographisch Bureau, The Hague, and of the Teylers Museum, Haarlem

Looy wrote first in the direct, personal, “1880” style, as in his popular novelDe dood van mijn poes (1889; “The Death of My Cat”). The influence of the Symbolism of the time is seen in his early story De nachtcactus (1888; “The Night Cactus”), with the flower representing ephemeral desire that blooms for one night and then dies. In his later work Feesten (1902; “Celebrations”), he appears more objective, describing scenes from lower-middle-class life; and in his autobiographical Jaapje (1917), Jaap (1923), and Jacob (1930), he shows his genius for impressionistic word-painting.